Online Channels Continue to Lead Hotel Bookings

NEW YORK—In the second quarter 2014, online channels—which include Online Travel Agents (OTAs), hotel websites (Brand.com), and global distribution systems (GDS) used by travel agents—continued to grow in popularity among individual business and leisure travelers, according to data from the TravelClick North American Distribution Review (NADR). The TravelClick NADR aggregates hotel bookings by channel for the transient segment (individual leisure and business travelers).

In the second quarter 2014, the OTA channel (which includes Expedia, Priceline, Orbitz, and Booking.com, etc.) experienced the largest jump in bookings, with a 12.8 percent increase in the second quarter compared to last year. Brand.com room night bookings increased year-over-year by 6.9 percent. The GDS channel grew 2.7 percent. Hotel direct (calls directly to the property and walk-in customers) was flat at 0.3 percent from a year ago, and the CRS channel was slightly down, at -1.7 percent.

Average daily rates (ADR) across all transient channels grew 3.7 percent in the second quarter 2014 compared to the second quarter 2013. The OTA channel had the highest ADR growth with an increase of 10.7 percent. Additional channels that showed growth include: hotel direct, up 2.7 percent; GDS up 4 percent; CRO up by 2.1 percent; and Brand.com up 3.9 percent.

In the third quarter 2014, OTA ADR is tracking ahead by 11.3 percent, based on reservations currently on the books. ADR for the third quarter is also growing for the other channels, up 4.7 percent for the GDS channel, 2.7 percent for the hotel direct channel, 3.8 percent for Brand.com, and 2 percent for the CRO channel.

“Consumers are increasingly turning to online channels—whether it’s a hotel’s website or an OTA—to book their hotel stays. TravelClick’s NADR data continues to show the scope and magnitude that all channels have in generating increased bookings and revenue,” said John Hach, senior vice president, global product management of TravelClick. “This is an opportune time to be a hotelier, as hotels increased revenue per available room (RevPAR) by 6.8 percent for Q2 2014, compared to just a year ago.”